Richness and Species Composition of Helminth Communities in Yellowfin Snook (Centropomus robalito) (Centropomidae) from Coastal Lagoons in Guerrero, Mexico

Abstract

Adult yellowfin snook (Centropomus robalito) were collected between January and May 2008 (dry season), to assess the consistency (repeatability) of the species composition and richness of their helminth communities in 4 coastal lagoons from Guerrero, Mexico. Fifteen species of helminth were identified: 4 Monogenea, 6 Digenea, 1 Acanthocephala, and 4 Nematoda. The helminth communities in the 4 lagoons consisted mainly of marine autogenic species, were poor in richness and diversity, and exhibited low qualitative similarity at the component level (29.5% to 62.1%) and the infracommunity level (0.48 6 0.30 to 0.69 6 0.19), indicating that species composition and richness of the helminth communities of C. robalito are not predictable at a spatial scale. Significant nestedness occurred in the infracommunities of all lagoons, as well as among 2 sampling periods in Tres Palos Lagoon, suggesting a certain degree of structure in species composition in infracommunities in space and time.